Media and information literacy: policy and strategy guidelines

This comprehensive MIL Policy and Strategy Guidelines resource is the first of its kind to treat MIL as a composite concept, unifying information literacy and media literacy as well as considering the right to freedom of expression and access to information through ICTs.

These guidelines offer a harmonized approach, which in turn enables all actors to articulate more sustained national MIL policies and strategies, describing both the process and content to be considered.

In the evolving knowledge societies of today, some people are overloaded with information, others are starved for information. Everywhere, people are yearning to freely express themselves, to actively participate in governance processes and cultural exchanges. Media and information literacy (MIL) provides all citizens with critical competencies to survive in the 21st Century.

Recognizing that to achieve MIL for all will require national policies, UNESCO has published Media and Informational Literacy Policy and Strategy Guidelines.

As Professor Ulla Carlsson, Director of the Nordic Information Centre of Media and Communication Research, notes in her Preface, “this publication is of vital importance toward improving efforts to promote MIL on national and regional levels”.

The Guidelines is divided in two parts. Part 1, MIL Policy Brief, is designed for policy or decision makers and can serve as a summary of the publication. Part 2 is divided into several comprehensive chapters discusses: 1) how to enlist MIL as development tool; 2) conceptual frameworks for MIL policies and strategies; and 3) model MIL policy and strategies that can be adapted by countries globally.